In Western States, Pine Beetles Wreak More Havoc than Wildfires

Killing 3.9 million acres of trees in several western states in 2007, the mountain pine beetle is now victimizing “hundreds of thousands of acres of towering trees” in California, the U.S. Forest Service director of Forest Health Protection Robert Mangold told USA Today.

A treatment of chemicals that mimics those produced by the beetles is helping to deter the bugs by making them believe the trees are already playing host to another colony of beetles. But due to the cost, these treatments are being limited to “high-value trees around campgrounds and homes.”

The U.S. Forest Service’s Robert Mangold says the beetle infestation is due to a “perfect storm of drought, large stands of old trees and, possibly, warmer temperatures because of climate change.” Apart from chemical treatments, a standard forestry practice of thinning thick stands of trees is being used to slow down the infestation, USA Today reports.

The pine beetle has shown an increased resistance to the cold, reports the Calgary Herald, with large numbers surviving a harsh winter in southern Alberta in 2007-08. Surveys of 300 areas in the province have shown that “more trees are now infested with pine beetles than last year. And across the province, more than six million hectares of forest will be at risk this summer.”

In Breckenridge, Colorado, mountain pine beetle infestations are being combated with replanting. Residents are being “encouraged to turn in receipts and forms for up to 20 percent reimbursement on trees they’ve planted.” The town is hoping to replace infested lodgepole pines, “95 percent of which are predicted to be lost within town limits.”

In the state of Washington, “pheromone-soaked flakes” are being applied to 100 acres of ponderosa pines affected by a fire in 2007. These flakes are helping to trick mountain pine beetles into thinking the trees are already occupied by fellow beetles. The treatment “will only last for one or two years, but that will give the trees a chance to get stronger and withstand the next attack,” entomologist Connie Mehmel told The Wenatchee World.

The National Climate Data Center reviewed the 2008 wildfire season thus far on its Web site, noting that lightning strikes were the main reason for the fires in Northern California and Arizona in late June. Despite droughts in the southern states, the US Forest Service Experimental Fire Potential Index names “large portions of the western United States” as the areas with the greatest fire risk.

Wildfires have destroyed upwards of 840,000 acres in California. On July 11, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered 2,000 additional California National Guard personnel to go through firefighting training to help bolster the state’s preparedness. The state will also be using National Guard aircraft from California and other states, and will be using infrared scanning to help detect fires.

The U.S. Forest Service’s “Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet” describes the habits, infestation patterns, and treatment of the mountain pine beetle, outlining the areas the beetle is found, what types of trees it infests, and the benefits and detriments of the insect.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture outlines several plant pests and diseases, providing fact sheets, studies, contact information and other resources on pests like the Asian longhorn beetle, which has infested trees in Illinois, New York and New Jersey.